This is an entry in the Walking Dead Recap series. If you're curious why I'm writing recaps of episodes which aired almost a year and a half ago, check out this article.
The episode opens with a fairly intense helicopter crash. At first, I wasn't sure if this was a flashback or happening in the normal timeline, but when Michonne and Andrea come upon the crash, my question was answered.
Side note: I’m not completely sold an Michonne. It seems she could be the first real stunt character of the series: a samurai-wielding, nearly silent black woman with dreds who has a small stable of walker pack mules. Up to this point, most of the characters have been some kind of stereotype (Rick is the just cop, Shane is the overly aggressive cop, Daryl is the redneck, Dale was the overprotective father figure, Andrea is the emotionally unsure woman looking for validation, etc.), but Michonne seems less realistic to me. She's the first character who has caused me to say, "Man, what writer came up with her?" I think the worker walkers had a lot to do with it.
Back on track. After the crash, some vehicles drive up to the scene and armed men jump out. The women (who don't realize everyone who dies now turns into a walker) hide and watch in horror as the men "mutilate" the bodies of the dead. After a few tense moments, we're led to think they're in the clear, but then we hear an oh so familiar voice tell them to drop their weapons. Merle!
It might be the largely ignored midwestern psuedo-redneck side of me that loves Merle, but I do. Yes, he is a brash, racist, misogynistic, untrusting dick, but he looks out for his own and makes no apologies for who he is. If you haven't passed his tests, he'll let you die without batting an eye, but you're a member of his circle, you know Merle will do literally anything for you. You also have to have a measure of admiration for anyone who is willing to cut off his own hand and cauterize the wound without anesthetic to stay alive. I'm sure he will do some things in the short-term which will make me regret saying that, but I think he will eventually be a redemption story. Also: the new stump weapon is a nice touch.
The women are summarily captured, blindfolded, and taken back to a compound along with one injured soldier from the helicopter. Andrea and Michonne are are tended to well, but along with that care comes two guards at the door and the removal of their weapons, which both are understandably reluctant to be without. Eventually, a man with authoritative voice comes in to explain the situation, and we are told he's the Governor, the leader of the compound. They want to leave immediately, but he says they are in no shape to be out by themselves again and insists they stay the night. He walks them across what looks like a town square from before the walkers and into a hotel with linens, a change of clothes, and a hot shower.
The next day, the women are treated to a tour of the compound. People walk around unarmed in sundresses and chinos, landscapers tend the Governer's lawn, and tractor trailer walls at each end of the street feature guards with heavy weaponry. It's a testament to the feeling the show creators have presented that this slice of suburbia looked totally surreal and wrong to me the first time they panned across it. "No," my mind said,"this is not the world of The Walking Dead. It must be a dream sequence or a flashback." Andrea seems to be impressed with the compound and warming to the idea of a stable existence, but Michonne wants no part of it and doesn't appreciate the obvious tail the Governer has put on them.
There is a laboratory scene where a scientist is introduced and we are shown Michonne's walkers partially reanimated, similar to the scene in Mars Attacks where Sarah Jessica Parker's head is sewn onto the body of a chihuahua. I assume this is to set up Big Things regarding the compound's (and more specifically, the Governor's) interest in either figuring out the disease, making use of those already turned, or simply enjoying having some sort of power over perceived life or death. Later in the day, the scientist and the Governor share a meal with Andrea and Michonne where they point out the many benefits of staying in the compound and we learn the scientist thinks there might be something left of the original person in the walkers, setting up possible future conflict over how they should be treated.
The governor talks to the badly-wounded soldier and promises to bring back the rest of his team if the soldier shares their location. We cut to a field in which a dozen or so men in fatigues are milling about a couple military vehicles. A vehicle comes down the road toward them with a white flag waving out the driver's window, though the fact that it is a low-end Nissan sedan probably got the non-threatening message across just as well. The Governor steps out, drops the injured soldier's name, and promises to take everyone to the safety of his compound. As everyone relaxes, he walks toward the leader, pulls out a pistol, and shoots the man in the chest. Others pop up from the surrounding brush and shoot all the remaining soldiers down. My note during the scene: "The Governor’s dramatic walk into the hail of bullets while his team killed the soldiers was a bit much." We don't need a slow-mo Michael Bay-esque gunfight scene to get the point across that he is a Bad Man, and it makes me worry he might be drawn as a caricature or one-dimensional character as opposed to the mostly solid, complex characters which have been at the heart of the show to this point.
The vehicles and ammo are taken back to town. The Governor gives an impromptu speech on a Humvee, saying all the soldiers had been bitten and it's so sad, but he couldn't let the ammo/fuel/vehicles/medical supplies go to waste. He and Andrea have a short conversation where he again expresses a desire for her to stay. I will note here that I think the most far-fetched premise of the newly-discovered town is the Governor can maintain a community of that size (the tour leader said almost 80) and involve that many people in nefarious deeds (five men helped him kill the soldiers) without anyone letting the cat out of the bag. Someone always gets drunk and starts bragging or tries to impress others with tales of their deeds.
At the end of a long day of evil, the Governor is shown in his well-appointed bedroom, assumedly post-coitus with the woman who gave the town tour earlier. He looks at a picture of his wife and kids, seemingly showing that he still has some good in him, even if it's only a memory. He then goes through a door opened by a key around his neck and enters a room with a soft glow from the other side. He stares intently, and we are shown several aquariums filled with severed walker heads. Remember, everyone: he's a Bad Man! I can’t have been the only one who thought of the Ronco head jars from Futurama during this scene.
It feels like this season has moved past the “trying to survive” portion of the show, or at least the first version. The second season was a bit of a shift from the running of the first season, but everyone knew the farm was never really secure and was simply waiting for the other shoe to fall. Now all the major characters are in relatively secure compounds, and it appears we’re entering the “competing survivor groups” era. It's a logical progression, but I'm hoping the extremes shown in the new character introductions are toned down a bit to reduce the chance of cliche or campiness.
Next Episode Prediction: Andrea will form an attachment to the Governor and be persuaded to stay longer in the camp, much to the chagrin of Michonne.
Season Prediction: At some point, the scientist and the Governor are going to be at serious odds with each other regarding what is morally right regarding walkers, their reanimation, and whether they can be helped.
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